Beach Cities' proposed campus

3/15/21 Beach Reporter

RE: "BCHD's environmental review: mitigating impacts," The Beach Reporter, 3/18/21

Beach Cities Health District, a public health district, is selling something. Something big. But you wouldn’t know it by looking at splashy articles on their project dubbed the “Healthy Living Campus”.

It’s a $374M endeavor with a nearly $8M budget just for pre-development. What does that money buy? Artistic renderings — with a “hey, look over here” feel — that distract the public from seeing but a glimpse of the massive Assisted Living Facility that makes up the bulk of the HLC.

A Draft EIR produced by their consultants looks more like a sales document than a CEQA-required technical report to disclose environmental impacts.An Executive Summary seemingly designed to give a reassuring nod to officials and the public to go no further. But with any EIR, the devil is in the details.

The critical mass of the project’s Phase I is a 6-Story, 103-foot tall, Assisted Living Facility that stretches across two city blocks, atop a 30-foot hill. You must dig deep to find in the DEIR, that it would be the tallest structure in all the Beach Cities, save two apartment buildings built in the early 1970s. Phase II is not seen in any visualizations.

Look behind the curtain. This is blatant overdevelopment disguised in sheep’s clothing. It’s time for the residents of the Beach Cities and Torrance to learn more and take action. Participate in public meetings, share concerns with elected officials send DEIR comments before times up.

The more you know, the more there is to oppose.

—Ann Wolfson, Torrance